Enigma
by storytellergirl
Summary: Sequel to SHADOW. Scotty and Lilly are getting ready to have a baby, and must solve another hectic case in the process...Now Finished!
1. Black and White

**Disclaimer—I don't own this stuff.**

**A/N—This is the sequel to SHADOW; it starts up about a month after the first one left off.**

**ENIGMA**

**1-Black and White**

"Hey, Lil, I made you a smoothie," said Scotty handing Lilly a Styrofoam cup filled with a thick pink liquid. Lilly studied the contents with raised eyebrows before glancing up at her partner.

"Are you trying to kill me, Valens?" she demanded. "This doesn't look edible."

"Lil, this is the third smoothie I've made you this morning. The first one wasn't the right flavor, the second one wasn't thick enough, and now this one isn't…what's wrong with this one?"

Vera shuffled over to the pair and peered over Lilly's shoulder at the smoothie in question. He deftly swiped the cup out of her hands and drained it in one gulp. "Huh, she's right—it's not edible. Still not thick enough, kid."

Scotty frowned as he swatted Vera in the back of the head with a rolled up paper. "What are you? The official test taster?"

"I still want a smoothie," announced Lilly waving a file around.

"Yeah, yeah. But this time you better drink it yourself." Scotty pointed a finger at Lilly sternly before disappearing back into the break room. Lilly and Vera dissolved into laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Jeffries coming to sit on the other side of Lilly's desk.

"Lil's got Scotty waiting on her hand and foot," answered Vera wiping his eyes.

"Is this why my break room looks like a tiki bar?" Stillman stopped in front of the detectives, waiting for an answer.

Lilly shrugged nonchalantly. "You'd be hard on him too, Boss, if _you_ had to endure Scotty every moment of every day. Did you know he has the nerve to call me at three in the morning just to make sure I'm not hungry?"

Stillman sighed. "Lil, be nice. He's a first time father…each one handles an impending baby differently."

"Sure, and I'm just thrilled with the morning sickness, back pain, and bladder problem." Lilly snorted before she began shifting through the other folders on her desk. Stillman shook his head at the blonde woman.

Jeffries was the first to voice the unanimously unvoiced opinion. "Why don't you two just move in together? I thought you were working on your relationship."

"Being pregnant doesn't make me want to spend the rest of my life with Valens. Right now our lives are too hectic to decide what's right for us and what's right for the baby," returned Lilly glibly.

"In other words," murmured Vera, "they can't decide whose place to move into and whose place to sell."

"Scotty wants me to get rid of my cats!" exploded Lilly.

"All I want is for them to stay as far away from me as possible," stated Scotty handing Lilly another smoothie. Lilly stirred the straw in her latest drink and sipped it with satisfaction.

Stillman rubbed a hand over his weary eyes. "Remind me to send the Mayor a thank-you card for everything he's done to my department." He was halfway to his office when he called out, "Lil, I need you to make an appointment with your doctor soon. You need to prepare your maternity leave paperwork so I can shift all your cases around. You hear?"

"Yeah, I hear you, Boss." Lilly slumped in her seat as her fellow detectives drifted back to their respective desks. Nearby she could hear Scotty on the phone making her a doctor appointment. At least she wouldn't have to do it. Last time she had ended up yelling at the secretary for being nosy; and Scotty had been pissed that he had to find her a new doctor.

"Alright, Rush, me and you got a date with a Dr. Cunningham in two hours. She had a last minute cancellation." Scotty flashed a smile at Lilly as he began working on the mountain of paperwork sitting atop his desk.

"Lucky me," muttered Lilly. She moved to grab another folder when a woman hovering near her desk got her attention. "Hi, is there something I can help you with?"

"Are you Detective Lilly Rush?" replied the woman in a naturally soft voice. Lilly nodded and motioned for the woman to take a seat. As the woman settled, Lilly took the chance to study her. Dressed in black slacks and a black silk shirt, the woman fit the bill of one in mourning. Her color treated hair was in the process of returning to its natural blonde from the dark brown it had once been. She wore no make-up, but the grief in her green eyes spoke volumes.

"How can I help you, ma'am?"

"My name is Cordelia Martin. I…I was wondering…perhaps you could…that is…I would like someone to reopen my daughter's case. Her name was Abigail Martin. She…well, she was killed three years ago this week. I…want her case solved," said the woman. She clutched a charm around her neck tightly and avoided any eye contact with Lilly.

"Well, what can you tell me about Abigail's case?" Lilly took out a pen and pad of paper to jot down notes. Cordelia bit her lip and glanced around the department in a furtive manner. She was afraid of something.

"Abby was just seventeen. She was an honor student in her high school, the school president, captain of the cheerleading squad, and even a member of the debate club. She was very outgoing…so full of life. Her death shocked…all of us. Her sister, Annabelle, took it the hardest.

"The police found Abby's body in an alley downtown. She had been shot twice in the head. They said under the circumstances, and with evidence at the crime scene that Abby…my precious Abby had been killed for…drugs." Cordelia broke off into sobs as Lilly listened patiently.

"Was Abby on drugs?"

"Never! How could you say such a thing…she preached against drugs…alcohol…sex…she was a model student!"

Lilly took a deep breath. "Mrs. Martin, high school today isn't the same as it used to be. In large cities like Philly, it's all too common to find more and more teens using drugs. They're widely available for a price these days. Would you have known one percent everything Abby did before, during, or even after school?"

"Of course! I raised my children to know right from wrong! Abby would never have fallen for the temptation of drugs! She spent her time working at the YMCA on weekends, helping kids like her get over their addictions and grief—Abby was perfect!"

"Uh-huh," Lilly was unconvinced. "Were there any leads in Abby's death three years ago? Drug deals gone bad are always hard to solve…it's a whole other world than the one you and I live in."

Cordelia took a piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to Lilly. "This is the address of Abby's sister, Annabelle. She and Abby were two peas in a pod. They're twins, you know. Anna can tell you all about Abby."

"Thank-you, Mrs. Martin, I'll be sure to give your daughter a call."

"Maybe you should visit Abby's grave as well—perhaps it will inspire you to get out of your chair and solve my daughter's murder. You seem to have nothing else going on." Cordelia eyed Lilly coldly as she got to her feet to tower over the female detective.

"You're right; I'll make sure this is top priority. Just as soon as I complete some unfinished business at the doctor. I can assure you, Mrs. Martin, I haven't found a cold case I couldn't solve yet. Just give me some time."

"I've been waiting three years, Detective Rush. I won't hesitate to call in the F.B.I." With that Cordelia Martin marched away from Lilly's desk with her head held high. Grief or no grief, she meant business.

"What the hell was that?" asked Scotty as he and Stillman walked over to Lilly's desk.

"A high profile case from the sounds of it," replied Lilly pulling on her coat. "Come on Valens, we have a doctor to see. Hey, Boss, while we're out, have Vera and Jeffries pull out the box for an Abigail Martin. She's our vic."

**A/N—It's been a while…but I've been putting thisplot together for a couple of weeks now so it'll flow. Aren't we all excited with the new season starting up? I figured it was time I started the story as well. I'm going to warn you ahead of time that for this story's sake I'm going to drag the case along for a while, only because I'm mainly focusing on Lilly and Scotty. I'm going to try and hit most of the pregnancy in this story…so bear with me. Enjoy!**


	2. Double Talk

**Disclaimer—Still don't own it.**

**2-Double Talk**

Lilly drummed her fingers on her chair as she and Scotty waited for Dr. Cunningham to arrive. They were in a small room plastered with posters depicting every aspect of the birth process. Lilly was seated atop the bed in a yellow paper dress as Scotty flipped through a parenting magazine with a bored expression on his face.

"I could do half this stuff with my eyes closed," he muttered tossing the magazine aside.

Lilly snorted. "Should I be impressed or worried?"

Scotty shrugged. "So when are you moving in?"

"I've told you a hundred times I'm not moving into your place. Not when my sister used to stay there."

"I thought we were over the Chris thing—especially since she hung up on you after you told her I knocked you up."

"Do you have to say it like that? Knock up is such a crude term," said Lilly frowning.

"Sorry. Forgive me if I'm still a little shocked from the whole thing."

"It's been a month now, Valens."

"You're going to have to stop calling me that. Is that what you want our kid to hear you call me?"

Lilly's eyes twinkled with suppressed laughter. "What would you like me to call you? Pumpkin pie? Baby cakes? Besides, maybe that'll be the baby's first word. Valens."

"Guess it's better than some of the things you could call me," replied Scotty eyeing Lilly's stomach warily. "When are you going to get fat?"

"Not for a few more months," stated a woman with short brown hair as she entered the room. "Hi, I'm Dr. Marilyn Cunningham. I'll be your doctor throughout the pregnancy. And you must be Lilly Valens."

"Actually it's Lilly Rush. That's Scotty Valens," murmured Lilly pointing over at her partner.

"Forgive me, my secretary must have written it down wrong."

"Or somebody filled out the paperwork wrong." Lilly shot a look over at Scotty who was busy studying a picture of a newborn baby.

"Do all babies look like bloody puppies when they first come out?" asked Scotty pointing to the picture on the wall.

Dr. Cunningham raised an eyebrow and whispered conspiratorially to Lilly. "First time father?"

"You have no idea."

"Aw, I see. I believe, Mr. Valens that you will think differently when your child is born in eight months."

Scotty turned around with a quizzical look. "Eight months? Somehow it seems like it's already been like three months."

"Pregnancies tend to make life more hectic, thus making it seem as though ages have gone by rather than mere days." Dr. Cunningham smiled at Lilly and set about with the check up. Lilly rolled her eyes in amusement as Scotty, ever the gentleman, turned his back.

After a while the doctor finished up. "Well, everything seems to be fine. The baby is AOK."

"Good," said Lilly cheerfully. "Is that it for the day?"

"Yes, I'll be sure and schedule your sonogram for the next visit. So next month you'll get your first picture of the baby. I'll see you two then." Dr. Cunningham smiled graciously at the pair before disappearing out the door. Scotty glanced at Lilly and then turned his back once more as he waited for her to redress.

"Think it's a boy or a girl?" he asked.

Lilly pulled on her jacket while thinking of a reply. "Boy."

"I say girl."

"Well, you're going to be wrong…my instinct tells me it's going to be a boy."

Scotty followed Lilly out of the room and down the hallway. "What and my instincts don't count? I think it's going to be a girl."

"Scotty, you once thought Olivia was a male cat…your instincts suck," remarked Lilly as she waited for the secretary to schedule the next appointment.

"Oh yeah? Let's bet on it."

Lilly smirked and thanked the secretary before leading Scotty outside. "You're on. What are we betting on?"

"If it's a girl we get married after she's born," answered Scotty opening the passenger door for Lilly. The blonde detective stopped short.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. If the baby turns out to be a girl then we start planning a wedding. I want our kid to share the same last name as both of us."

"Alright, if it's a girl we get married; but, if it's a boy he takes my last name, and we don't talk about marriage again for another five years."

Scotty thought about the offer for a while and then stuck out his hand. "It's a deal," he said as Lilly shook it.

"But we aren't going to let the doctor tell us the sex of the baby until it's born. I like surprises." Lilly smiled and got in the car. Scotty shut the door and shook his head as he walked around to the other side. The last surprise Lilly had gotten was him in her bed, and she had been very creative in letting him know how she felt about that. Ice cold water. Scotty was beginning to get a bad feeling about this bet.

**Homicide Department:**

"So what's the story on our vic?" asked Scotty as he and Lilly walked back into the office.

Vera looked up from the folders on his desk. "Just like Mrs. Martin told us, a drug deal gone bad. Says here that little Abby had cocaine in her pockets. The alley she was murdered in is pretty famous for drug dealers."

"Any leads?" Lilly took the folder out of Vera's hands and studied the pictures inside.

"Not many," said Jeffries joining the group. "Drug deals are so hush-hush that not even the victims know who they're dealing with half the time. But, with the evidence at the crime scene, it became an open and shut case. One or two leads were actually followed before the officers decided they had reached dead ends."

"Great," murmured Scotty pulling out a chair and sitting down, "sounds like this one might take a while. Who all knew Abby around the time she died?"

"Her twin Annabelle, for one, her mother, the ever lovely Cordelia Martin, uh, a boyfriend, Jake Wilson, one druggie, some guy by the name of 'Max', and Calvin Schmidt, a childhood friend of Abby and Annabelle," replied Vera consulting a list of names.

"Narrows it down a bit, doesn't it?" joked Lilly handing the file to Stillman as he came over to the desk.

"Any news from the doctor?" asked the older man barely looking at the photos in the file.

"She's getting the sonogram next month," answered Scotty.

"Good. Try and narrow down that due date while you're at it."

"Right. So," Lilly easily drew the topic back to their latest case. "Where are all these people now?"

Jeffries chuckled. "That's the best part. Seems Annabelle might be our only bet for another month. Jake isn't due to return from Europe until then; 'Max' is in a local rehabilitation center—and isn't allowed visitors until he's clean again; and Calvin happens to be on the other side of the country attending his sister's wedding."

Scotty groaned. "So who's visiting Annabelle today?"

Stillman grinned as he spoke, "Lil and Vera. I'm tired of you and Lilly making front page of all the tabloids. They're trying to guess the due date for your kid already."

"Yeah, wanna join the pool? My money's on end of June." Vera looked over at Scotty who simply stared back.

"There's a pool?" asked the Puerto Rican.

"Yeah. There's another one on the sex of the baby and another on names. They're all open until we have a winner, so you're welcome to it."

Lilly rolled her eyes and motioned for Vera to follow her out the door. She patted Scotty on the back before leaving. "I already joined," she whispered.

"Nice! Better be some damn good money in it for you!" shouted Scotty as she and Vera walked away.

**Across Town:**

"Annabelle Martin? I'm Detective Rush, and this is Detective Vera. Can we have a few words with you?" Lilly smiled appreciatively as Annabelle opened her apartment door wide enough for the two officers to enter. She was a thin girl with auburn hair cropped down to her chin. A splash of freckles across her nose made her blue eyes seem unusually bright.

"How can I help you?" she asked as the three of them took a seat.

Lilly gave a small nod. "Your mother asked us to reopen your sister's case. Abigail was your twin, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, we were identical twins. Abby was my best friend. We told each other everything. High school wasn't any different. We did start hanging out with different crowds, but that's normal."

"What can you tell us about the night she died?" questioned Vera.

Annabelle shrugged. "Abby was out as usual. Being as popular and busy as she was, Abby never got home until like nine o'clock at night. The night she died thought, Abby was supposed to be on a date with her boyfriend. Jake Wilson. He was bad news from the start."

"What makes you say that?" Lilly narrowed her eyes as the younger woman giggled.

"Because. _Every_one knew who Jake was."

Vera practically growled. "Get to the point. What was Jake?"

"Abby didn't do drugs, Detective. But she was pretty involved in the lifestyle. Jake was one of the biggest drug dealers at school. I've always thought he was the one who killed my sister that night."

"But you never voiced any of your concerns, why's that?" demanded Lilly.

"Hello, drug dealers know murderers. Like I really wanted to end up with two bullets in _my _skull? Uh, no thank-you. Besides, Jake comes from money. Serious money. His dad has this incredible business. You can't go around saying Mr. Wilson's son does drugs, that's a one way ticket to the nut house."

"And yet, here you are blabbing on the kid," Vera snorted, "If you ask me that's a really lame excuse."

Annabelle shook her head with a sigh. "I know, but see, Jake and I stayed friends after Abby's death. He was there for me when I needed a friend. Look, I'm coming out because I'm afraid for my life."

"Afraid of what? Jake's family? His wealth? His reputation as a drug dealer?" snapped Lilly.

"All of them. Jake proposed before he went to Europe."

**A/N—Alrighty, I'm seriously trying to get back into the swing of things. It's been so long here…it's hard to keep a story all twisted up until the end. I hope you like this chapter. I'll try and get the next one up ASAP. Thanks. **


	3. Home Sweet Home

**Disclaimer: None of this stuff belongs to me.**

**3—Home Sweet Home**

"Lil, would you hurry it up a little?" called out Scotty from the end of the hallway. He had offered to pick her up early for work, but now they were twenty minutes behind. Several more minutes passed before Lilly finally made her way into the living room.

"Happy now?" she asked as they walked out her apartment. "I just spent the last twenty minutes puking my guts out for you."

Scotty rolled his eyes as they got into the car. "Sure, makes me feel special."

"It should considering the fact that I'm carrying your child."

"Yeah yeah. The boss called me this morning."

Lilly grimaced. "Is there a break in the case?"

"Well—yeah, that Jake Wilson fella's back in town. But that's not why the boss called. Seems the Mayor is sitting in his office waiting for us."

"The Mayor? Of Philly?" Lilly turned in her seat to glance at Scotty.

"That's what the boss said. Something along the lines of the Mayor and his wife have some kind of a surprise waiting for us," replied Scotty not daring to look at Lilly in case she was making a face. They had met the Mayor's wife in their last major cold case, and the lady was something of a hardcore romantic. There was no telling what kind of surprise she and her husband had concocted for Lilly and Scotty.

Once they reached the police department, the pair of detectives practically dragged their feet up the stairs towards homicide.

"Play nice, huh?" murmured Scotty as he ushered Lilly by the crook of her elbow towards Stillman's office.

"I'm pregnant, Scotty. Playing nice isn't possible anymore. Especially when it comes to the Mayor. He's the reason we're in this mess, remember?" hissed Lilly. Scotty gave her a warning look before pushing the office door open. Sitting across from Stillman was a stout man with dark brown hair and bright green eyes. His face crinkled into wrinkles upon seeing Lilly and Scotty.

"Aw, Detective Valens, and Detective Rush, how wonderful the two of you look!" exclaimed the Mayor jumping up from his seat and eagerly shaking hands with the detectives. Lilly plastered a smile on her face and allowed the Mayor to seat her in the chair he had just been sitting in. Beside her sat Tina Williams, the Mayor's wife. Judging by the woman's smile she was still the same cheerful, plump woman dressed to the nines that Lilly had meant only a couple of months before.

Tina grinned at Lilly and gave a girlish giggle. "Gosh, but you don't look pregnant, Detective Rush. Still as thin as a stick. Is the baby moving yet?"

"No, not yet," said Lilly truthfully. "Just the morning sickness and bladder problems for now."

Scotty hung his head in amusement as the Mayor and Tina burst into laughter at the one-sided joke. Stillman shook his head, hiding his smile from Lilly who didn't seem to find the joke funny.

"Well," gasped the Mayor wiping tears from his eyes. "You must be wondering what Tina and I are doing here."

"The thought did cross my mind," answered Scotty raising his head to hear what the Mayor had in mind.

Tina took up the tale. "Well, Bobby and I felt that we simply had to do something for you two, seeing as how this child is being brought into this world because of our meddling."

"Yes—" Lilly was quickly cut off by Scotty bending down to kiss her on the forehead.

"And we can't thank you enough," he finished winking at Lilly conspiratorially. Lilly narrowed her eyes but wisely kept quiet. It probably wouldn't be such a good idea to try and throttle the Mayor in the middle of the homicide department.

The Mayor guffawed loudly and patted Scotty on the back, nearly knocking the younger man to the ground. "Too good, too good. Young love is hard to find these days. Anyway, with all the tabloid coverage going around, it was bound to come out that I ordered the two of you together for the sake of Detective Rush here. Well, with that much coverage it wasn't hard for the public to realize that you two weren't married…and that you lived apart. So, Tina and I put our heads together and brainstormed for almost a month on how to rectify the situation."

"Rectify?" questioned Lilly placing a hand on her stomach, feeling the queasiness from earlier returning full throttle.

"Yes, of course. We can't have your child born in such a manner, now can we? It wouldn't look right if Bobby was only Cupid the Sperm matcher, rather than the love doctor, you know what I mean, sweetie-pie?" Tina took one of Lilly's hands in her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"So Tina and I got the city council together and took the leftover money from my campaign and—"

"We bought you two a house!" squealed Tina. Lilly widened her eyes and looked up at Scotty in shock.

"A-a h-house?" stammered Scotty sinking onto the arm of Lilly's chair.

"Yessiree!" replied the Mayor with a snap of his fingers.

Lilly turned back to Tina who was eagerly awaiting her reaction. "How big?"

"Two story, five bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom, dining room and kitchen, two car garage, a large den, a fenced in backyard, set in a safe neighborhood only a fifteen minute drive from here." Tina checked off her fingers as she rambled on about the house.

"That-that must cost a-a fortune," croaked Scotty loosening his tie with a finger.

"Don't you worry about a thing, first three years are already paid for," said the Mayor. "Courtesy of Philadelphia."

"That's…that's incredible," murmured Lilly running a hand through her hair. "Cat friendly?"

"Naturally," whispered Tina. "It's the perfect place to raise a family, have barbecues…hold a wedding."

Stillman wisely cleared his throat. "That's a wonderful gesture, Mayor Williams. I think this will solve a lot of problems for Lilly and Scotty in the future."

The Mayor nodded and shook Stillman's hands firmly. "Well, Tina, give Detective Valens the key and address so they can check out their home later. I'm sure we're intruding on a very important case." The Mayor shook the hands of Scotty and Lilly one last time before heading out of the office with Stillman.

Tina handed a silver key and address to Scotty before giving Lilly a quick hug good-bye. "I'm looking forward to a wedding invitation one of these days," she whispered.

Lilly and Scotty were silent for a few minutes. Finally, Scotty spoke up. "I guess we're going to be moving in together after all, huh?"

"All I have to say is that I get to pick all the furniture," muttered Lilly. Scotty glanced down at the blonde with a curious expression.

"What, you mean you're okay with this?"

Lilly shrugged uncomfortably. "I'd hate for the Mayor to lock us up for refusing a house. And besides, it's cat friendly. I win."

Scotty frowned just as Stillman walked in chuckling. "Got to hand it to Robert, he's one helluva Mayor."

"Sure," said Scotty getting to his feet. "So I hear our boy Jeff Wilson is back in town."

Stillman nodded. "Yeah, he just got in yesterday. You and Vera can hunt him down at his mansion."

"What about me?" asked Lilly.

"You can start calling a moving service and get your stuff in order. I've got a feeling it's going to be a five man job moving you and those cats to this new house of yours."

**The Other Side of Town:**

Scotty and Vera followed a maid down a garden path leading away from the Wilson Estate. It seemed that their boy Jeff was playing tennis with a friend from college.

"You should have asked the Mayor for one of these babies," murmured Vera with a chuckle jerking his head back at the mansion.

"Sure, and the next thing you know Lilly would be adopting every stray cat in town." Scotty shook his head at the thought and turned his attention to a tall, slender blonde haired, blue eyed man. "You Jeff Wilson?"

The man grinned and wiped some sweat off his brow. "Yes, yes I am. And you must be the detectives who have been so patient for the last month. Please, have a seat."

Vera and Scotty each sat down in a chair beneath a small Ramada. Jeff sat across from them and waved to his pal to follow the maid back to the mansion. "So what can I do for you gentlemen?"

"Abigail Martin," replied Vera swiftly. Jeff made a face.

"I take it you've made some sort of a break in the case; otherwise I'm fairly sure you wouldn't be here."

"You could say that," said Scotty. "I guess some people would think it strange that you're dating your dead girlfriend's identical twin sister."

"And then asking her to marry you only three years later," added Vera darkly. "I dunno about you, kid. Miss Abby so much you had to replace her with the one girl in the world who looks exactly like her?"

"I know how it looks, but that's not why I asked Anna to marry me. I love her. She's nothing like Abby. After Abby was killed—I didn't know what to do. I was lost, and so was Annabelle. We started to hang out some more after that, you know? We were friends finding solace in each other…and then it turned into love. True love. I've never felt this way about anyone, not even Abby—and I was with her for almost four years." Jake ran a hand through his hair nervously.

Scotty rolled his eyes. "Spare me the dramatics, Jake. Annabelle says you had a nice little reputation in high school."

Vera snorted. "Oh please, she said you were a drug dealer. Care to expand on that little tidbit, Jakey boy?"

"What? That's a bunch of bullshit! I-I don't know why Anna would say such a thing," protested Jake.

"You sure about that?" asked Scotty leaning forward across the table. Jake blew out a deep breath before speaking again.

"Abby and I were having some problems right before she was killed. We had been together since the summer before our freshman year in high school. Senior year was stressful—college applications, Abby and her AP courses, Abby and her giving back to the community crap, and me with basketball. She was head cheerleader and school president! Abby had all these clubs and organizations going on that she didn't have any time left for me. It was getting to the point that I couldn't handle having an invisible girlfriend."

"So what," muttered Vera, "you got rid of her just like that?"

"No. Abby and I decided to take a break from each other. See other people for awhile; I didn't think we were going to get back together. The break-up kind of got to her, so she started spending all her free time down at the YMCA. She connected with some of the kids there, the ones who really needed a friend like her."

"But Annabelle says Abby was with you the night she died," pointed out Scott warily.

Jeff shrugged. "Abby didn't want her mom or sister to know about the break-up. I promised to keep quiet and pretend things were fine with us. Abby didn't tell Anna everything, you know. They weren't _that_ close. Because if they were, Anna would have known about 'Max'."

"'Max'?" snapped Vera irritably.

"He was a druggie. He was in real deep before he got help. At the YMCA he met Abby and she became his salvation. After her, he wanted to go clean, but the guys he had worked for didn't like that. The night Abby died she was with 'Max', helping him out. He'd give her a call out of the blue, telling her he needed a friend to lean on. It usually meant he was on the verge of a relapse. That night was no different."

"How do you know all this?" questioned Scotty studying the young man in front of him.

Jeff sighed. "I couldn't live without Abby. The night she died I asked her to marry me. She said she'd give me an answer after she dealt with 'Max'."

Vera ran a hand over his face, trying to keep calm. "There a reason we keep using 'Max' instead of a real name?"

"His past is all screwed up. Parents were into drugs, he's been on and off the stuff since he could walk. I don't think anyone knows his true identity anymore, not even him. Abby always called him 'Max'. She said it reminded her of a _The Goofy Movie_. She had a real thing for Disney movies; she was always finding some way to connect them to real life.

"Look, after Abby died, I started working at the YMCA for her. I became 'Max's' other solid rock in the world. The only reason he's in rehab now is because I'm footing the bill. I do it for Abby, because she saw something in him that no one else did."

"Like what?" demanded Vera. "A killer? Because if 'Max' there was still in trouble with his drug buddies then he could be the reason she's dead."

"Yeah," agreed Jeff offhandedly, "but if Abby hadn't died, I would never have found my soul mate in Anna, now would I?"

**A/N—Oh my god! I feel so so so horrible! I can't believe how long this took me to write and post! I totally got caught up in school with midterms and papers due…I guess I just lost track of time, all the free minutes I had I used to sleep. I sincerely apologize that this one took so long. I'll try to do better next time around.**


	4. Sink or Swim

**Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me.**

**3-Sink or Swim**

"Be careful with that—it's brand new," said Lilly as Scotty and Vera struggled with a large, heavy sofa. The two men groaned as they maneuvered the piece of furniture into the living room. Lilly pointed to the spot she wanted the sofa to sit, and watched with held breath as it was lowered to the ground.

"Thank-god that was the last of it," sighed Vera breathlessly as he plopped himself down onto the blue velvet cushions.

Scotty chuckled and nodded in agreement. "No kidding. Man, Lil, you sure know how to pick furniture don't you? I think this thing was the heaviest sofa at the furniture store."

"Tough luck, Valens, I'm keeping it," replied Lilly with a grin. Stillman and Jeffries walked into the room just as Lilly sat down on the floor pulling a large box open. She began to sort through the contents as Stillman and Jeffries set down a brand new coffee table in front of the new sofa.

"Did you buy every single piece of furniture brand new?" asked Stillman raising an eyebrow at Scotty. The younger man nodded.

"Lil didn't like my stuff, and hers was covered in cat hair. Speaking of those little devils, where the hell are your cats, Lil?"

"Exploring upstairs. There are a lot of windows for them to look out of. They aren't hurting anything," answered Lilly absently as she unraveled fragile figurines from their newspaper wrapping.

"I didn't think you had furnished that part of the house yet," remarked Jeffries taking a seat in a plush chair that matched the sofa.

"It isn't," murmured Scotty shooting Lilly a dark look.

"Can't decide on who gets what room?" teased Vera.

"Something like that. Lilly wants to pick the baby's bedroom first…and then she wants to pick her _own _room."

"And where does that leave you?" murmured Stillman with a grin.

Lilly glanced up at the men staring down at her. With a roll of her eyes she said, "I'm still considering whether or not to share a room with Scotty. If I do that means _he _can get up early in the morning when the baby cries; and if I don't share a room with Scotty then there's the chance that I won't get pregnant again."

Vera raised his eyebrows. "You're thinking that far into the future?"

"I'm pregnant, Vera, I'm already choosing potential careers for my baby."

Scotty snorted. "She's narrowed it down to the first female President of the United States or a professional ballerina if the baby is a girl, and if it is a boy then he's going to be a doctor for the poor or a veterinarian."

"And still no names?" asked Vera hopefully.

Lilly grinned, "Sorry Vera, Scotty's still throwing a fit that our baby is involved in every possible betting pool at the office."

Jeffries' chuckle turned into a cough as Scotty glared at him. "I'll have you know that I have refrained from joining any of the betting pools."

"Only because he lost the last one. We betted what the surprise from the Mayor was—Jeffries thought you two were getting an all expense paid trip to France," added Stillman.

"That would have been nice…a lot better than this big thing. What the hell am I supposed to put in every single room?" demanded Lilly. "Did the Mayor not realize what kind of paychecks we get in our line of work? I'm lucky we were able to afford the few pieces of furniture that we got today."

"We bought the whole store!" protested Scotty.

"No we didn't, you refused to buy that kitty playground I wanted for my girls."

"Lil, they're cats. They don't care about a kitty playground. As long as they have food, water, a litter box, and a warm lap then they're good to go."

"And some could say the same about you," retorted Lilly.

"Alright, alright, you two, break it up," warned Stillman with a shake of his head.

"So, when's the wedding again?" murmured Vera with a wink. Both Scotty and Lilly simply tossed pillows at his head. "I was kidding!"

It was two hours later when Scotty and Lilly were left alone in their new house. Scotty yawned and stretched his legs out onto the coffee table as he watched Lilly finish placing her figurines around the living room. "You done for the day?" he asked lazily.

"I guess. How does it look?"

"Fine. Now sit down, you're making me tired just watching you, and aren't you supposed to be taking it easy anyway?"

Lilly shrugged but made her way over to the couch and plopped down beside Scotty. Together they stared at the blank T.V. screen. "Someone's going to have to set that thing up," she murmured.

"Vera tried—almost gave himself a heart attack reading the directions. Now he's saying that we should just get a professional to take care of it."

"That hard?"

"No, just a bruised ego. What do you want for supper? We can order Chinese, pizza, Thai, Greek, Italian...whatever you want." Scotty glanced up at Lilly as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Can't we order one of each?" she asked innocently.

"Whatever you want, Lil," murmured Scotty with a chuckle.

"Good, order some Indian food too while you're at it."

"We're just having one baby right?"

"Yeah, why?"

Scotty shook his head. "Just checking, can I order something for myself? Or are you gonna swallow everything whole when it gets here? You act like you've got a whole army to feed."

Lilly watched as Scotty got to his feet and headed towards the hallway to order their food. With an evil grin she called out, "I've got to feed your growing son!"

"Daughter!" shot back Scotty.

With a satisfied grin Lilly leaned back against the cushions of the couch and patted her lap, encouraging her two cats to jump right up. Maybe life wouldn't be so bad in the new house.

**The Next Day:**

"So how was the first night in your new place?" asked Jeffries as he and Lilly got out of the car. They were standing in front of a local YMCA.

"Fine, but we crashed on the couch. The beds never came in yesterday. Did you know that Scotty snores?" Lilly looked over at Jeffries who shook his head in amusement. "Yeah, well, he kept the girls up. They were cranky this morning."

"I'm glad to see you two are getting along." Jeffries chuckled as Lilly made a face. The two officers entered the YMCA and greeted the receptionist in the office warmly. After inquiring about "Max" the woman pointed Lilly and Jeffries in the direction of the indoors swimming pool. It seemed their ex-druggie had a thing for swimming.

Standing at the edge of the pool was a skinny man in his mid-twenties. He had ruffled black hair with a matching goatee, and deep green eyes. He was calling out encouraging remarks to the few kids swimming around in the pool. Glancing up, his face darkened at the sight of the detectives as they pulled out their badges.

"Aw man, what the hell do you want?" he groaned. "I'm tellin' ya I'm clean. I just got out of rehab!"

"We know," started Lilly tilting her head to one side. "We've been waiting for you for the last month. Care to tell us what you can remember about Abigail Martin?"

"Max" made a face. "She was a good girl. I didn't kill her."

"We didn't say that," pointed out Jeffries.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to. That's what everyone's been saying for years. I may be screwed up, but it don't mean I'm a killer. I would never have hurt Abby! She was an angel. My savior. Abby believed in me when no one else would."

Lilly pursed her lips as she studied "Max" closely. "Sounds like you had a crush on Abby once upon a time."

"Who wouldn't? She was beautiful…and funny. She didn't act like she was better than me just because she was in school and had some top notch boy toy."

"Did Abby ever do drugs?" questioned Jeffries.

"Max" seemed to hesitate. "Look, man, what Abby did on her own time wasn't my business, you know what I mean?"

"We just want a straight answer."

"Then ask someone else."

"You know "Max"," murmured Lilly confidingly, "we have a witness who says that Abby was with you the night she died. You gave her a phone call and she headed your way. Are you trying to tell me that you never saw her that night? Or maybe you're trying to hide the fact that you're the reason Abby died? Is that it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," muttered the man shifting from one foot to the other nervously.

"Oh, but I think you do," continued Lilly. "I think maybe Abby was on drugs, and you were here dealer. What happened that night? Did she get too greedy that you lost your head? Or did she threaten to turn you in if you didn't hit her up with some more stuff?"

"It wasn't like that!" snapped "Max". He ran a hand through his hair before opening his mouth to speak again. "Abby had been on drugs before I met her. We connected at the YMCA; she was trying to get over that guy she had broken up with. My probation officer told me I had to be at the YMCA every day for at least an hour or two. I was supposed to get cleaned up and find a new hobby.

"Abby was like my mentor. She was the only reason I kept coming to this hellhole. She's still the reason I come here. When I met her, Abby told me that she had tried drugs before. She said she had a friend who had hooked her up…but that she didn't really like it so she quit. That was why she decided to spend her free time at the YMCA. She wanted to help disadvantaged youth.

"I tried to stay clean, but sometimes Abby and I would go hang out…and she seemed different, you know? When we were out of the YMCA she would light up…sniff some…whatever, you know? She did it all. But we only did that like once a week. Then all one day Abby quits cold turkey. Something was wrong with her. She babbled on and on about being afraid for her life. She said someone was out to get her.

"I called her that night because I needed a friend. And she had my weed. I never saw Abby alive. I found her body at our meeting place…but I ran. I took the weed and ran. Do you know what that does to me? I didn't care that Abby was dead—all I cared about was the goddamn weed!"

Jeffries sighed and put his notepad back in his coat pocket. "But you're clean now?"

"Thanks to Abby's boy toy. He likes to check up on me. Thinks he's some kind of saint. Little does he know that Abby used to talk all kinds of shit about him behind his back. He was cheating on her."

"With who?" asked Lilly.

"Don't ask me. Abby didn't talk about the other girl. Just said that one day she'd get her dues."

"You're pretty frank about this. So why do you think Abby got onto drugs in the first place?"

"Who knows? It's a sink or swim business. I drowned once…now look at me, barely hanging on to life. But Abby, Abby drowned for good. She couldn't handle that kind of life. She was weak."

"Any ideas on who might have introduced Abby to her downfall?" Jeffries looked at "Max" who was rubbing the back of his neck wearily.

"She and her sister had this friend Calvin…some chump they grew up with. Knew him from diaper days. Abby was worried about him. He didn't have everything they did. Worked for a living, or some shit like that."

"Gee, you're ever the help," acknowledged Lilly sourly.

"Max" snorted and pointed behind Lilly and Jeffries. "Why don't you talk to Calvin himself? He's over there."

Lilly and Jeffries turned to see a tall, gangly boy with brown hair and blue eyes frozen in his tracks. His eyes were wide with fear as he glanced back and forth between the two detectives. He seemed to make up his mind and took off in the opposite direction.

"Well, well, do you think he has something to hide?" asked Lilly with a shake of her head as she pulled out her suspect to call in their runaway.

"They always do when they run from the cops," agreed Jeffries.

**A/N—I know, I know, this one took forever. Finals are coming up in another month—and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I meant to write this up sooner and get it out before now, but…it didn't work out that way. Sorry. Hope you like the latest chapter. **


	5. A Skeleton in the Closet

**Disclaimer: Of course none of this belongs to me.**

**5-A Skeleton in the Closet**

Scotty rubbed his eyes wearily before reaching across his desk to pick up the phone. "Detective Valens speaking."

"Hijo! ¿Qué tal? You no call for weeks—I thought you dead!" screeched a female voice from the other end. Scotty winced and pulled the phone away from his ear as his mother burst into a slew of Spanish explicatives. She was the last person he had expected to hear from. Of course, he couldn't blame her. It had been almost three months now since Scott had talked to his family.

Lilly was passing by with a file in her hands when she noticed Scotty keeping the phone at a distance. She could vaguely make out a hoarse voice screeching in another language. "Ex-lover?" she teased with a twinkle in her eyes.

"My mother. I haven't talked to her for a while…apparently she was worried," answered Scotty wryly.

"I see. By any chance, Scotty, have you even told her that you've knocked up an innocent woman?"

"Don't push it, Lil. My parents are very traditional. The second they find out that you're carrying my child they're going to start planning a wedding."

"Maybe you should wait to tell them about the baby until _after_ it's born," murmured Lilly placing a hand on the small bump beneath her shirt. Scott snickered as he watched Lilly skitter off to the opposite side of the department. Typical Lilly, still afraid of commitment.

"¿Mijito? You there?"

"Yeah, Ma, I'm here," sighed Scotty bringing the phone back to his ear. "I'm sorry I haven't called lately, but I've been busy with work. I'm on a new case."

"Uh-huh. You think I stupid? Mira, hijo, I hear about your last case. Don't think I can no read. Who this partner of yours? Why I no meet her? She carry mi nieto and I no meet her?"

Scotty groaned. "Ma, I don't know if that's such a good idea. Lilly's afraid of people. She has cats for best friends…can't you and Dad wait until after the baby's born?"

Mrs. Valens snorted. "You estupido? I want to meet her. Bring her for dinner tonight. I make good meal. Fatten her up. You don't cook well; she needs to be strong for baby. When is wedding?"

"There is no wedding, Ma. Look, I'll try and bring Lil over for dinner—but don't do anything to scare her, okay? She's a cop too. She might use her gun if you mention marriage to her."

"Fine, I no say anything, but I no speak for your Papá. Okay? Dinner tonight. Te quiero."

"Te quiero." Scotty sighed and hung up the phone. He glanced over to where Lilly was sitting with Jeffries and Vera, discussing the case. Their latest suspect, Calvin, was still AWOL. Scotty got to his feet and went to join his colleagues.

"How was the talk with your mother?" asked Lilly looking up.

Vera chuckled. "Well, well, Valens, you finally tell your folks they're going to be grandparents?"

"They already knew," replied Scotty pulling out a nearby chair and plopping down in it. "My mom likes to read the tabloids too. She wants us over for dinner tonight, Lil."

Lilly made a face. "I thought you said they were traditional."

"They are, so my mom's making a feast in your honor. She wants to fatten you up so the baby will be healthy."

"Does she know that you two are living together?" asked Jeffries.

"She will tonight," murmured Scotty. "Any luck with our boy Calvin?"

"As a matter of fact," started Stillman joining the group, "he's on his way here. An officer pulled him over for a routine traffic stop, saw the warrant out for his arrest and was kind enough to bring him here."

"Great. Scotty and Jeffries can talk to him," said Lilly brightly.

"And what are you going to do?" demanded Vera.

"Eat lunch, what else?"

Vera glanced down at his watch with a frown. "It's only ten in the morning."

"Yeah, well, try telling that to the beanie baby in my stomach. Damn kid doesn't know when to let up. He's kicking now."

"She," interjected Scotty.

"Whatever."

"You sure this kid ain't gonna turn out to be a cross dresser when it grows up? You can't even agree on what it is!" Vera chuckled at the thought.

"As long as he's a Nobel Prize Winner, we'll love him for whatever he thinks he is," replied Lilly casually.

Scotty shook his head. "She better get your looks and not your attitude, Lil, or I'm taking her in for a trade."

"Well, if _he_ looks anything like you, then we might as well lock him up now." With those words Lilly got out of her chair and made her way over to the break room with all three males staring after her incredulously.

Stillman grinned. "Maybe you should record tonight's festivities with your family so we don't miss out. Lilly's in quite a mood today."

"It's only because she decided she doesn't like the bed she got for herself. So now she's taken over mine," stated Scotty.

"You mean you two are actually sharing a bed?" questioned Jeffries with a raised eyebrow.

"It's more along the lines of Lilly's afraid to sleep by herself. The house is too damn big for her. She wakes up in the middle of the night thinking she hears something outside. So she's been using her bed as the excuse. Personally, I think my daughter doesn't like to sleep so far away from me."

"I thought Lilly said it was a boy," pointed out Vera scratching his head thoughtfully.

Scotty rolled his eyes. "Lilly's just the mother, what does she know?"

Before anyone else could reply, an officer appeared in the doorway of the homicide department with a cuffed man.

"Looks like its show time," said Jeffries getting to his feet.

"Lets hope tall and ugly has something to share today," agreed Scotty as they went to meet the officer. Scotty took charge of Calvin and ushered the man inside the questioning room. Calvin rubbed his wrists gingerly the second he was un-cuffed and able to take a seat.

"So, Calvin," started Jeffries taking a seat across from the man, "do you want to tell us why you ran a couple of weeks ago?"

"I don't talk to the five-oh," retorted Calvin darkly.

"Too bad. I guess you don't care if we decide to charge you with Abigail Martin's murder then, do you?" added Scotty from his position by the wall.

Calvin's eyes widened. "You ain't got any proof! I would never kill Abby! She's my best friend! We grew up together!"

"Then you must know all about her drug problem, huh?" interjected Jeffries casually.

"Aw, look man, Abby was smart about everything—she would never stoop so low as to do drugs."

Scotty raised an eyebrow warily. "You're kidding, right? Everyone else has been saying that Abby _was_ on drugs, and that's what got her killed."

"Oh no, Abby was _smart_ she wanted the good life, and she knew where drugs would take her if she ever got hooked," replied Calvin shaking his head.

"How about you? Did you ever do any drugs?" asked Scotty.

"Me? Are you crazy? I grew up watching my brothers do drugs. Now one's in jail and the other is six feet under as a result. I was the only one who tried to make it. I worked full-time and went to school. My senior year in high school I had to drop out…my girlfriend was pregnant and got kicked out of her house. I had to work two jobs to try and support my girl and the baby. And it all paid off. Jamie and I are finally getting married. Our boy's gonna be the ring bearer. I didn't have time for drugs. They only screw you up."

Jeffries grimaced. "Abby's friend "Max" said she had been worried about you around the time of her death. Was it because you had dropped out of high school?"

"Nah. Abby wasn't the one worried about me. Annabelle was. She had had this crush on me since like the third grade or something. She never liked any of my girlfriends, and when Jamie said she was pregnant…well, Annabelle thought it was a hoax, you know? She said the kid probably wasn't mine and that I was making a mistake to drop out and take care of Jamie. But Anna was wrong. Having a son was the best thing that ever happened to me. It made me realize that there is nothing stronger than family. And that's what had Anna so pissed.

"See, her family isn't hunky dory. They don't ever spend time together. Mrs. Martin might say they were close once upon a time, but that isn't true. She barely spent an hour a day with the twins. Jesus, man, I don't know how that woman ever figured out how to tell her daughters apart…I sure as hell couldn't. And I grew up with them. Abby and Anna were total mysteries, you know? They were enigmas."

**That Evening:**

"Do I look all right?" whispered Lilly as she fidgeted beside Scotty. The two stood on the doorstep of his parents' house, preparing to enter the fray inside.

"You look fine. As long as my mom can see that you're pregnant she isn't going to care how you look. You could have the face of a horse and she wouldn't take a second glance at you. She's always wanted to be a grandmother," replied Scotty giving his blonde partner a warm smile.

"Thanks, Scotty. You always know how to make a woman feel special."

"Hey, I try." Scotty pushed open the front door and ushered Lilly into the hallway. Instantly three women surrounded Lilly, cooing over her small bulge of a stomach in Spanish. Behind the women three men watched cautiously.

"Papa," greeted Scotty with a nod of his head.

The old man with gray hair spoke to his son, all the while studying Lilly. "She as white as snow. She always so white? Maybe she need to eat more…lot more."

"She fine," scolded the older woman giving Lilly a large hug. "She carry mi nieto! Is boy or girl?"

"Boy."

"Girl."

Lilly glared over at Scotty who was glaring right back at her. "We can't agree which one it is," murmured Lilly softly.

"No matter. I love anyway," replied Mrs. Valens waving her hand distractedly. She took Lilly by the shoulders and quickly began the instructions. "This is Scotty sister, Rosa. That over there is her husband Greg. Next to him is Scotty brother David. This here is his wife Gloria. And I am Scotty mama. And that is Scotty papa."

Lilly nodded trying to keep up with the woman's broken Spanish. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Lilly."

"When you marry mi hijo?" demanded Mr. Valens after a moment.

"Uh…um…well…Scotty?"

Scotty blinked in surprise as Lilly turned to him with her blue eyes begging for help. "We haven't settled on a date yet, papa. Lilly wants to wait until after the baby is born—she doesn't want to look fat in her wedding pictures. Remember what Tia Yolanda looked like when she finally got married carrying Robert?"

"Okay. But I pay for wedding. You get poor girl pregnant…I pay for wedding, her family no have to pay," replied the older man smoothly.

"Well…thank-you," said Lilly simply, blinking back unshed tears.

"Good," nodded Mrs. Valens, "now let's eat. You need to fatten up."

Scotty breathed in relief as Lilly allowed his mother to lead her into the small kitchen to seat her. He quickly took a seat beside Lilly and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as his mother, sister, and sister-in-law placed food on the table.

Dinner went by relatively smoothly. Lilly struggled to keep up with the various conversations directed at her. Luckily, Scotty was there to help her out. His family was very vocal. They had a million questions—half of which they didn't care to hear the answers to. They simply adored Lilly without question. It was after dinner that the family was cleaning up that Lilly and Scotty retreated into the living room for a quick breather.

"I really like your family," murmured Lilly sinking into the couch cushion beside Scotty.

"Good, because next they're going to ask for our address…you're gonna see a lot of them during the next few months. My mom's going to want to baby you."

"As long as she and your sisters like painting, I don't mind."

"Painting?" Scotty peered at Lilly quizzically.

"I want to paint the baby's room a spring green."

"Spring green?"

"What? It's a very pretty color. That and it's generic. Boy or girl," protested Lilly good naturedly.

"Alright, I'm sure my mom and dad will come paint. And Rosa will take you shopping for baby stuff, and Gloria will cook enough food to last us a lifetime. Greg and David will probably try and stay as far away from the women as possible."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the first one in my family to have a kid. The girls are gonna want to have babies now too," sighed Scotty.

"You mean I have to be extra careful since I'm carrying your parents' only known grandchild?" Lilly's eyes widened as she contemplated the meaning of this vital piece of information.

Scotty shrugged. "Yeah, something like that. You okay?"

Lilly thought for a moment and then nodded with a small smile on her face. Her hands immediately went to her stomach. "The baby just kicked."

"Really?" Scotty sat forward and placed a gentle hand on Lilly's stomach. After a few seconds he felt a tiny kick within her stomach. His eyes wandered up to Lilly's, whose own eyes were misting in joy. Without thinking he leaned down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss, one in which Lilly responded. They broke away with Scotty gazing down at Lilly in wonder.

"I think I'd like an engagement ring now," she whispered, her eyes sparkling in amusement.

"What, you mean no bet?" returned Scotty holding his breath hopefully.

"I'm tired of betting. I like this…all of this. Being with you, living with you, being with your family. I want this feeling to last forever," answered Lilly.

"Then one engagement ring coming right up," grinned Scotty leaning in for another kiss. Lilly giggled and returned the kiss just as a flash of a camera went off. The couple looked up at the doorway to see Mr. Valens grinning down at them wildly with a camera in his hands. Next to him stood his wife holding a stack of magazines.

"What are those?" questioned Scotty suspiciously. His mother squeezed into the spot between Scotty and Lilly as his father took the spot on Lilly's other side. The two detectives stared in horror as Mrs. Valens placed the magazines on the coffee table. They were bridal magazines.

"Now we plan wedding," announced Mr. Valens triumphantly.

**A/N—I know, this one took long too. For some reason I'm having a hard time getting into a flow with this story. But, once I start I can write quite a bit. Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Oh, and just so no one is offended, I intentionally made Scotty's family speak with broken English—my family is Hispanic, so I know for a fact that that is how many Spanish speakers speaker. I'll try my best to get the next chapter out quickly. Finals are only weeks away.**


	6. Instinct

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

**6-Instinct **

"Need more paint." Mrs. Valens stood back to study the large wall looming in front of her. Only half of it was completely spring green. The other half was still white. Beside her both Lilly and Mr. Valens had come to inspect the wall. It had been four months since the family dinner. Now Scotty's parents practically lived at the new house, preparing it for the baby. Since that moment Lilly had become family, and at least once a week the entire clan was over for a meal and wedding plans.

Scotty's parents were planning on having a big wedding for their son and future daughter-in-law, especially now that Lilly was sporting a small engagement ring on her hand. Rosa and Gloria had taken Lilly shopping for baby supplies every weekend for three weeks until Scotty told them there was more than enough for ten kids after all the trips. But Lilly simply didn't mind. She felt like a part of the family, and she loved every single minute of it.

"I go to store," volunteered Mr. Valens digging through his pockets for his keys.

"I go too. Maybe find border for room. Baby border." Mrs. Valens quickly left the room rambling a mile a minute about wallpaper border designs for the baby's room. Mr. Valens and Lilly exchanged knowing glances before Mr. Valens turned to follow after his wife.

"There go your grandparents," murmured Lilly placing a hand on her stomach. "They're putting a lot of effort in this room so you better like it."

"Talking to yourself again?" teased Scotty as he popped his head into the unfinished room. "Come on, get outta there. You know the paint fumes are bad for you. You're not supposed to be in there, remember? Doctor's orders."

Lilly made a face but took Scotty's extended hand to leave the room. From the pocket of her coveralls she pulled out the first picture of their unborn child. They had finally had the sonogram a couple of days before, and Lilly couldn't stop looking at it. "Do you think his head is too big?" she asked as they walked down the stairs.

Scotty snorted. "_She _is perfectly normal."

"Well _he _looks like he might have a big head." Lilly thrust the picture under Scotty's nose, causing the Puerto Rican to stumble on the bottom step. He made note of where Lilly was pointing her finger and chuckled.

"Lil, that's not the head. You're not even close. That's just blank space."

"Really?" Lilly brought the picture inches away from her eyes and squinted as she tried to make out the baby. "They should start doing these damn pictures in color. How the hell do they expect you to know where the baby is?"

"I'm sure they're hard at work at it, Lil," soothed Scotty rolling his eyes. Lilly sniffed unsatisfactorily as she stuffed the picture back in her pocket.

"Is there any food left?" she asked suddenly.

"'Course there is. Rosa brought over another five course meal."

"Isn't she great? How come you can't cook like that, huh, Scotty?" Lilly walked into the kitchen with Scotty on her heels.

"Because God decided I was better off not becoming a professional cook," replied Scotty glibly as he watched Lilly make herself a plate of food from within the fridge.

"Well maybe you should learn how to cook now…I'm sure as hell not cooking."

Before Scotty could argue a knock came at the front door. Scotty disappeared briefly, giving Lilly time to pop her plate into the microwave. Minutes later he returned with Vera, Jeffries, and Stillman behind him.

"What brings you guys here?" questioned Lilly glancing up at the clock. It was barely one o'clock on a Sunday afternoon.

"Thought we'd come by and see the picture of the baby," answered Vera taking a seat at the kitchen table. Lilly brought her plate over to the table and sat down as she handed Vera the picture.

"Good look finding him."

"Her," corrected Scotty.

"Still can't agree?" murmured Stillman as he and Jeffries sat down along with Scotty. The younger officer shrugged nonchalantly.

"So what's the real reason you're here?" Scotty waited until the sonogram picture had been passed around before asking his question.

Stillman cleared his throat. "We need to do an unofficial rundown on the Abigail Martin case."

"Mrs. Martin called the department up after you guys left to get the sonogram on Friday. She wants answers," added Jeffries wryly.

"Did you tell her to go screw herself?" mumbled Lilly placing a fork-full of fresh beans in her mouth.

"As much as I would have liked to, no." Stillman heaved a weary sigh. "Where exactly are we with this case?"

"We've interviewed all parties involved," started Scotty counting off his fingers as he named names. "Annabelle, "Max", Calvin, Jeff…no one's giving us a coherent story."

"Yeah," agreed Vera leaning back in the wooden chair. "They all seem to contradict what the other person says. Jeff says he and Abby took a break and that he had proposed to her on the day she died."

Jeffries nodded along. ""Max" says that Abby had done drugs for a while, and then she quit and became afraid for her life. He says he found her body and took the drugs before running."

Lilly looked up with a frown. "But wasn't Abby found with drugs on her at the scene?"

Stillman paused thoughtfully. "We may want to double check that."

"So someone else had to have come across Abby's body and plant more drugs," pointed out Scotty.

"Unless the killer was still around," mused Lilly.

"Or "Max" was lying to us," snorted Vera shaking his head. "Man this case has almost as many twists and turns as the last one we did."

"What about Annabelle? What's her version of the story?" Stillman looked to Lilly for an answer.

"She claimed that Jake was Abby's dealer…and now she's getting married to him."

"Yeah, but Jeff's story didn't go down like that. He says he and Annabelle connected and fell in love. He made Abby out to be too damn busy for him," said Scotty. "Said she was always doing a bunch of extracurricular activities. You know, it sounds to me like wasn't too sorry for Abby when she died."

"Seemed a little relieved to me…especially since it was because of Abby's murder that he and Annabelle hooked up," remarked Vera. The gruff man looked down at the sound of a cat's meow. The expression on his face was priceless when the cat jumped into his lap and settled in for the long haul.

"New cat?" questioned Jeffries raising an eyebrow as Vera tried to get the cat off of him without touching it with his hands.

"Lil's other two cats found it outside one day—it hasn't left since then. Kind of annoying little critter if you ask me. Lil named it Stickers since it never lets go of you once he gets in your lap," answered Scotty with a grin.

"_Now _you tell me," groaned Vera. By now he was on his feet, but the tiny cat was hanging on for dear life. He plopped back down in his seat and gave an exaggerated sigh as the cat closed its eyes to go to sleep.

Lilly finally spoke up thoughtfully. "You know, there's something fishy about the whole Abby-Jake-Annabelle triangle."

"What do you mean? The guy obviously isn't over Abby," declared Vera darkly. He glared down at the cat in his lap as Lilly continued talking.

"Well for one thing I clearly remember Annabelle saying that she and Abby ran in two completely different groups. Why would Jake find comfort in the one person who looked _exactly _like his dead girlfriend? Annabelle is supposedly nothing like Abby. He had to have figured that out after hanging around Annabelle the last couple of years."

"Opposites attract," murmured Jeffries.

Lilly shook her head. "Yeah, but not like this. If Jeff really was over Abby and relieved when she died why would he torture himself by dating Annabelle?"

"What if we're going about this the wrong way?" asked Stillman. "What if Annabelle wouldn't give up her last link to Abby? It doesn't hurt as well that Jeff is coming into some serious money."

Vera frowned. "I dunno, Annabelle didn't seem all that interested in money. She seemed more the type to care about the person. She lives in a small apartment, kinda like she doesn't like bigger and better things. Just what she has."

"Didn't Calvin say that it was hard to tell Annabelle and Abigail apart?" Lilly's question hung in the air as the men tried to go over the case in their heads.

"What are you getting at, Lil?" Scotty narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the blonde woman sitting across from him.

"Just that Calvin mentioned the fact that not even Mrs. Martin was able to tell the girls apart since she didn't spend enough time with them. What if Abby wasn't the one who died that day? What if Annabelle was the one who died?"

"But that wouldn't make any sense," argued Vera.

"Sure it would. What do we know about Annabelle? Next to nothing? I say we dig up a little dirt on her and compare it to what we know about Abby. My instinct tells me that we're going to find Abby reincarnated."

"But what would be the point of saying that Abby was dead if she wasn't?" questioned Jeffries.

Lilly shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? I just think that Annabelle is a lot like the Abby we've been hearing about for the past few months."

"So we still have no motive, and no suspect," sighed Stillman.

"That depends," replied Scotty. "Maybe Abby had a good reason to get rid of her twin and take her place."

**A/N—It's been a while, I know, sorry. I'm already working on the next chapter. It's almost done. Enjoy.**


	7. Doubles

**Disclaimer: Still doesn't belong to me. **

**7-Doubles**

"Hey, Lil, you were right!" called out Vera as Lilly and Scotty entered the homicide department the next day.

"How so?" asked Lilly with curiosity. She took a seat at her desk as Vera pulled up another chair.

"Annabelle Martin is one of the most giving people in Philly. She volunteers at Big Brother Big Sister, she spends an hour every Tuesday and Thursday at the YMCA, she helps out in every food drive collecting food, she gives blood every spring, she reads to kids at the library every Saturday morning for two hours, and she helps serve Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless every single year. Hasn't missed a beat since the death of her sister."

"Which is kind of funny since Annabelle claims she knew next to nothing about her twin other than the fact that she liked to do things for others," added Jeffries. "I talked to a couple of the organizations and they said Annabelle simply took over all the duties her sister once held."

"I wonder how she knew which things her sister was involved in," murmured Scotty as he plopped down in his own chair.

Stillman was grinning as he joined the group. In his hands was a paper. "It'd be pretty easy taking over Annabelle's life since they were identical twins. There weren't any fingerprints found on the drugs that were found on Abby's body. But here's the autopsy report. This girl didn't do any drugs in her brief lifetime. She's as clean as a whistle."

"I wonder if Annabelle's test would come back just as clean. She claimed that Abby was the only one on drugs." Lilly studied the autopsy report before handing it to Scotty.

"Maybe we should invite her in and get her tested?" suggested Scotty.

"Already on it. Annabelle is being kind enough to come down on her own to answer a few questions."

"Think she really is Abby?" asked Vera.

"There's only one way to find out," murmured Lilly. "Let's bring in the three men from Abby's life. Calvin knew the twins when they were kids. He should be able to pick out Abby from Annabelle."

"But he said he could never tell them apart," pointed out Scotty.

"Yeah, but didn't you guys say that he mentioned how bitter Annabelle had become when he got his girlfriend pregnant? That kind of affection doesn't just go away, and if it was never there, then there's no way she can pretend to be upset about the past, now is there?"

"And why bring in the other two?"

"Because maybe they'll notice something to remind them of Abby while she's talking."

**Later:**

Lilly breezed into the cold questioning room with Vera on her heels. Lilly carefully took a seat, inwardly cursing her bulging belly as Annabelle glanced at her in amusement.

"When are you due?" asked the other woman politely.

"Not soon enough," muttered Lilly as Vera stifled his laughter. "Annabelle, I want you to tell me about your senior year in high school."

Annabelle shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

"Oh, I dunno, why don't you tell me what happened that year?"

"Okay…well, Abby died that year. Um, I hung out with my friends. I went to senior prom—"

"Who'd you go with?" demanded Vera interrupting from his position near the dark window mirror.

"Well, I went with Jeff because we were friends. It was right after Abby had died and I didn't want to go, but Jeff convinced me that we'd have some fun."

"What else happened that year?" pressed Lilly carefully.

"I don't know! It was a long time ago—I can't remember everything!" snapped Annabelle showing her irritation.

"You don't remember Calvin dropping out of school that year? I heard you were pretty upset."

Annabelle gave Lilly a quizzical year. "It was Calvin's decision to drop out. No one forced him to, and sure I was upset. He was a good friend, and I thought he was going to turn out like Abby on drugs."

"But you weren't upset that he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant?" asked Vera, raising his eyebrows.

"We were teenagers. So he couldn't keep his hands off of his girlfriend, it's not like it wasn't anything new. It happens all the time. I was offended that he hadn't taken his abstinence pledge seriously…but really, what could I do?"

"You know, that's funny considering the fact that Calvin said you had a big crush on him in high school," hissed Vera walking over to the table and leaning across it to get a good look at Annabelle. The younger woman scooted back in her seat anxiously.

"Actually," started Lilly, "the way I heard it you had had a crush on Calvin since the third grade. You raised hell when you found out he had gotten some girl pregnant. You tried to make him believe the baby wasn't his."

"I-I don't remember," murmured Annabelle shifting around nervously. She kept her eyes averted from those of the two detectives questioning her.

"See, it was _Abby_, your sister, who didn't really care that Calvin had dropped out. _Abby _said it was his decision. You remember anything yet?" Lilly sat back and waited as Annabelle wrung her hands in her lap.

Vera snorted and walked over to the glass window and rapped on it with his knuckles. "Just so you know, Annabelle, Calvin's on the other side of this glass. I wonder if he's buying your little story as Annabelle?"

"Alright!" burst out Annabelle wildly. "Alright! I'm not Annabelle! I'm Abby! I…oh god, how could this have happened?"

"You wanna tell us why you've been pretending that you've been dead these last few years?" questioned Lilly softly.

"Annabelle had no worries. She wasn't on drugs, she didn't have a screwed up boyfriend. She was so carefree. And in school—god, in school she just didn't give a damn about her grades. She never tried. She wanted to travel the world, be a photographer. She didn't want to go to college, and no one expected her too. But me, everyone knew I was headed places. Everyone knew I was going to marry Jeff and live the good life. But I didn't want any of that!"

"So why string Jeff along?" muttered Vera.

"I still loved him, after everything—all the fights, the arguments. We clicked after I became Annabelle. He had no idea. Sure he noticed some of my old habits, but he passed it off as Annabelle trying to connect with her dead twin. I freaked out when he proposed again. I'm still getting sucked into the life I've never wanted…and I don't know what else to do. I can't live without Jeff, and I can't live as Annabelle. I never thought in a million years mom would re-open the case. I thought she had found peace with it all."

"How'd it happen?"

Abby gulped, "I was with Jeff that night and I got a call from "Max" asking me to meet him. He was so freaked out. I went to our usual spot and there was Annabelle and "Max". The poor guy was shaking. Annabelle was pissed. "Max" had run into her and thought she was me so when he asked for a hook-up I guess…I guess she figured out what I had been doing in my spare time. I was a total wreck after Jeff and I broke up. That's why I had gotten back into drugs. They're great stress relievers.

"In the alley, Annabelle started yelling at me. She was tired of getting mistaken for me whenever she was walking around town. The only ones who could never tell us apart were the druggies. They were always fucked up on drugs. "Max" took off because I had started yelling too. I was just so fucked up—I needed help. After all the yelling Annabelle said she'd help me out. That she would get me into a rehab and help me kick the habit. I mean, what else are sisters for? She wanted to help me out…

"The next thing I know my dealer comes out of nowhere with a gun drawn. I had been a little short on cash—I owed him money. Lots and lots of money. I guess he freaked out when he saw there was two of me. I'd never let on that I had a twin. He was pissed. He was frothing at the mouth and demanding all the money I owed him. Annabelle, Annabelle got in front of me and pretended she was me. She tried to calm the guy down, but it was useless.

"And me, I couldn't do anything. I was cowering on the ground, trying to hide behind a trash can and then…and then the gun went off. I screamed and another shot went off. When I finally looked up, Anna was on the ground. She wouldn't answer me when I shook her. And all that blood." Abby broke into a sob. "I didn't know what to do. It was all my fault…I guess I freaked out. I sat there for like twenty minutes until I decided that Anna wouldn't have wanted her death to be in vain.

"She knew that I didn't want to go to college…she knew I envied her. So I knew it would be alright if I became her. I didn't like my reputation as it was…killing me off was just so simple…that way no one would ever think bad about Anna. So I did it. I turned into Annabelle."

Lilly shook her head. "Why didn't you come clean earlier about all of this?"

"Because I was afraid that he'd kill me too," whispered Abby closing her eyes against the tears falling down her cheeks.

"Who were you afraid of?" questioned Vera quietly. Before Abby could answer a gunshot echoed from beyond the glass window.

"Scotty!" Lilly gasped and tried to get to her feet, but doubled over in pain.

"Stay here!" ordered Vera as he ran out of the room. Lilly didn't answer as she felt herself slip to the ground. Abby was at her side in an instant.

"What's wrong?" she asked hovering over the detective.

Lilly winced in pain and clutched her stomach. "I think I'm going into labor," she murmured with tears in her eyes. Outside the room another gunshot was fired, freezing both women in their spots.

**A/N—A horrible spot to leave you at, but bear with me. Thanks.**


	8. Labor

**Disclaimer: Still isn't mine.**

**8-Labor**

"Where's Scotty?" demanded Lilly. "Where is he? Is he okay? What happened?"

The paramedics eyed each other carefully as they loaded Lilly into the ambulance. Finally one spoke up. "We need to get you to the hospital, Ms. Rush. Your water broke—you're going into labor."

"I don't give a damn about that! Where's Scotty?" Lilly's voice raised an octave, causing the paramedics to flinch.

"Right here." Scotty jumped into the ambulance and motioned for them to get a move on. Scotty took Lilly's hand in his own and gave it a quick squeeze as the ambulance took off. Across from him another paramedic was checking over Lilly.

"What happened?" asked Lilly through gritted teeth as another wave of pain shook her body.

"You'll never guess who the dealer was."

"Who? Don't play games with me, Valens, or I might just chuck this ring out the door when we get to the hospital."

Scotty grinned. "Calvin."

"Really? I thought he said he wasn't on drugs. Something about not wanting to follow in his brothers' footsteps."

"Turns out his whole story was a lie. He didn't have any brothers. He does have a girlfriend…she has a restraining order against him. He isn't allowed near her or their son. He freaked out when Abby confessed everything. He thought she was going to name him, so he grabbed Jeffries' gun and pointed it at me and Stillman. Unfortunately for him he forgot that Jeff and "Max" were still around. Jeff knocked the gun upwards so he shot the ceiling. "Max" tackled his feet about the same time that Vera shot him in the back."

"Is he dead?"

"Yeah. But at least the case is finally closed. Abby freaked out when you started going into labor. Which, I must say, is a little early, don't you think?" teased Scotty trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't remind me. Bet the boss wasn't too happy, huh?" Lilly grinned mischievously at the thought.

"He's threatening to take out water damage from your next paycheck."

"Party-pooper."

"Nah, he actually seemed kind of excited. He, Vera, and Jeffries are rushing around trying to get everything written out and taken care of so they can come to the hospital. My parents are on the way…I called them as soon as the ambulance arrived for you," remarked Scotty.

Lilly looked ready to say something when she clutched her stomach in pain. "I'm never having another kid again," she vowed darkly.

"Don't be so sure about that. I've always wanted six kids."

"Then learn to procreate on your own, because I'm not bearing another baby after this one."

"Hey look, the hospital!" announced Scotty ignoring Lilly's words. Lilly narrowed her eyes and began to mutter incoherently under her breath in between contractions.

**Hours Later:**

"Why isn't it out yet?" whined Lilly wearily as the doctor checked her over once more. "Shouldn't it have come out by now?"

"It's on its way," murmured the doctor soothingly.

"God, can't you just reach in and pull it out?" moaned Scotty clutching his hair. His eyes were blood shot after all the waiting he had done since he and Lilly had arrived at the hospital.

"Why don't we pull it out of you?" snapped Lilly crossing her arms against her chest. Scotty jumped back in surprise, but wisely kept his mouth shut. The doctor chuckled in amusement as he put aside his clipboard.

"I think we're ready now," he said. The doctor stepped out of the room briefly and returned with nurse in tow.

"About time," muttered Lilly. Scotty hovered around anxiously as the nurse propped Lilly up and the doctor pulled on some latex gloves.

"Okay, Lilly, when I get to three I'm going to want you to push," remarked the doctor calmly.

"That's it? Push? Is it going to come flying out of me like ketchup?" Lilly spat out the words acerbically as she prepared herself to push.

"You know, Lil, I'm having second thoughts on marrying you," started Scotty with amusement written in his eyes.

Lilly glared at him and grabbed his hand. "If this is going to hurt me then it sure as hell is going to hurt you."

"One, two, three, push!" cried out the doctor. Lilly cried out in pain as she began to push, tightening her grip on Scotty's hand.

"Owwowwowow!" Scotty gritted his teeth in pain as Lilly shot him another dark look. "You're hurting me!" he protested.

"This is all your fault!" shrieked Lilly. "If you hadn't gotten me drunk I would never have been put in this situation!"

"Me! You're the one who kept ordering all that wine!"

"You were the one who was talking about Christina!"

"You brought her up in the first place!"

"Keep pushing!" encouraged the doctor. "I see a head!"

"If you hadn't slept with my sister in the first place I never would have hated you for as long as I did!"

"Why is this all my fault? I made a mistake—I've made up for it! It's all in the past now, Lil, you have to let go!"

"It's not over until—" Lilly never finished her sentence as a new sound echoed in the room. Both Lilly and Scotty turned their heads in wonder as the nurse cleaned up the baby.

"It's over," whispered Lilly in surprise. She quickly let go of Scotty and stretched out her arms for her newborn child. The nurse wrapped the baby up in a white blanket and handed it over to Lilly. Scotty watched in awe as Lilly cuddled the tiny creature in her arms.

"Congratulations, you're the proud parents of a baby girl," murmured the doctor quietly. The doctor and nurse quickly disappeared from the room letting the new parents spend some time alone with their daughter.

"She's beautiful," whispered Lilly.

"Yeah, she looks just like you," agreed Scotty. Lilly looked up and smiled with fresh tears in her eyes.

"I love you, Scotty."

"Well, there's something I don't hear everyday."

Lilly chuckled. "Shut up and kiss me, Valens."

Scotty smiled and bent down to give Lilly a tender kiss on the lips. "I love you too, Lil."

**Twenty Minutes Later:**

"So what's her name?" asked Vera finally. He, Jeffries, and Stillman stood near the doorway while Scotty's family was seated in the various chairs that had been pulled into the room for the occasion.

Scotty grinned as he looked over at his friends. "Summer Leigh Valens."

"Will she be baptized in church?" asked Mrs. Valens curiously.

"Uh…" agreed Lilly nodding along, barely lifting her eyes from her sleeping daughter.

"Who be godparents?" demanded Mr. Valens quickly.

"Uh, well, Lilly?" Scotty turned to his fiancée who was now rubbing noses with Summer.

"Why not Vera and Jeffries?" suggested Lilly without thinking. Vera and Jeffries jumped apart, eyeing each other warily as Stillman chuckled.

"Oh." Mrs. Valens eyed the two men knowingly. "They _that_ way. We support. Good choice for our nieta, right, Papa?" she nudged her husband who nodded quickly with wide eyes.

"Wait, oh no, Lil!" Vera shot a dark look at the oblivious blonde as Rosa and Gloria began talking excitedly about a baptism that would eventually take place.

"Forget it," said Scotty with a sigh. "She's only got eyes for Summer."

"I've got eyes on my reputation," replied Vera smugly. Jeffries rolled his eyes.

"Your reputation? What reputation?" he asked.

"Hey, I could have one. Why can't Stillman be the other godfather?"

"Because who else is going to walk me down the aisle and give me away?" remarked Lilly icily. Vera gulped and then shrugged.

"Aw what the hell," he muttered to himself.

**A/N—Okay, the next chapter will be the last one. I'm not sure if I'll get it out this week since I want it to be a good one considering it's going to be the wedding. So I hope you've enjoyed the last three. **


	9. The Wedding

**Disclaimer: Of course none of this belongs to me. **

**Chapter 9-The Wedding**

Guests milled about the large backyard engaging in small talk while they waited. It was a warm spring day with blue skies and a few white clouds. It was the perfect day for a wedding.

Folding chairs had been set up in the green grass with three long tables set up behind them and piled with food. Off to the other side of the yard were round dining tables covered in white tablecloths and dining ware. White lilies and floating candles were placed in the middle of each table. Seated near the front of the makeshift altar was a string quartet tuning their instruments.

"You nervous?" teased Vera as Scotty paced up and down the grassy aisle.

Scotty glanced up with a wild look in his eyes. "What makes you say that?" he asked warily.

Jeffries rolled his eyes as he took a seat in the front row. "You're making a hole in the aisle. Lilly won't appreciate walking through mud in that dress of hers. It took her three months to find it, remember?"

"Yeah," agreed Vera with a chuckle. "You really don't wanna ruin her big day, do you?"

"Tell me again why we waited a year before we got married?" muttered Scotty with a scowl.

"So Lil could lose the baby fat after having the little squirt." Vera looked around as he spoke. "Speaking of which, where is the little thing?"

Scotty grinned. "Look behind you."

Vera turned around and smiled at the blonde little girl holding onto a chair with one hand and her bottle with the other. She had large blue eyes and wore a fancy little green dress with ruffles. Vera squatted down to look Summer in the eyes. "Hey squirt, Whatcha doin'?"

"I tired," replied Summer proudly. Vera shrugged and scooped the tot up in his arms before handing her over to Scotty.

"She's all yours," he announced with another chuckle.

"You're a funny man, Vera, remind me again why Lil chose you to be one of Summer's godfathers?" replied Scotty as Summer wrapped her arms around his neck. Vera simply winked back as an answer.

Inside the house Lilly was busy studying herself in the mirror. It had taken her three months to find the perfect dress. She smiled at the memory of Scotty's complaint that it was too simple for the wedding. But that was exactly how she had wanted it.

The white gown clung to Lilly's form in all the right places. It had plain thin straps over her shoulders and a few sequined beads across the top, before flowing down to the ground. Her hair was twisted back in a loose bun with a few blonde curls hanging out and small white flowers woven in the bun. Lilly liked simple. That was who she was.

A knock on the door shook Lilly out of her trance. She opened it up and gave Stillman a small smile. "Hey."

"Are you about ready?" asked Stillman. "I think Scotty's afraid you're going to pull the disappearing act on him."

Lilly chuckled. "Oh please, it took me a whole year to plan this wedding out. Besides, I think Scotty's family has all the exits blocked. I saw Mr. Valens talking to a few of Scotty's cousins—and he was pointing at the door and windows."

"Come on, you can't keep the guests waiting forever." Stillman offered his arm as Lilly let out a small sigh.

"I can wish can't I?" she mumbled as she took his arm. Together the pair walked downstairs to where Mrs. Valens was waiting. Scotty's brother and brother-in-law threw open the double doors to the backyard as Mrs. Valens gave a signal for the music to start.

The opening bars of Pachelbel's "Canon in D" began, indicating the start of the wedding. Lilly took a deep breath and glanced out at the crowd that had gathered for her wedding. She smiled as the mayor and his wife waved at her, and then giving her two thumbs up. Directly behind them were Abby and Jeff standing hand in hand.

"Let's do this," murmured Lilly. Stillman nodded with a fatherly smile and together they began the small trek down the aisle. Up ahead Lilly could see Scotty with Summer in his arms. It seemed their daughter was fast asleep.

Scotty shifted Summer to his other arm as Stillman handed Lilly over to him. Lilly grinned as she took Scotty's arm and reached over with her other hand to fix Summer's hair. It was beginning to darken. Lilly had the feeling that Summer would grow up to have hair the same color as Scotty.

The couple smiled at each other as the priest cleared his throat. "We are gathered here to day to join in the union of this man and this woman."

"What do you think?" whispered Scotty as the priest droned on.

"I think those enchiladas your sister made smell really good," murmured Lilly as her stomach let out a soft growl.

Scotty glanced down at Lilly in amusement. "I meant about the wedding."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," returned Lilly snuggling closer to Scotty. Summer yawned and blinked her sleepy eyes open. Upon seeing her mother she reached out her arms until Lilly took the drowsy child out of Scotty's arm. Scotty grinned and wrapped an arm around Lilly. Things were finally perfect between them.

Soon enough the priest arrived at the most important part. "Do you Scotty vow to take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and until death do you part?"

"I do."

"And do you Lilly vow to take this man as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Scotty didn't need to be asked twice as he quickly gave Lilly a soft kiss on the lips. Lilly beamed back at him, and somehow Scotty came away with Summer in his arms. Hand in hand the couple walked back down the aisle and over to the dining tables. They took their seats at the table furthest away from the food as their guests picked out their own close by. Within minutes Stillman, Jeffries, and Vera joined the newlyweds. The last six seats were reserved for Scotty's family.

"Is she still sleeping?" asked Vera pointing at Summer.

Lilly grinned. "She takes after her father. She sleeps like a log."

"I do not sleep like a log," protested Scotty.

"This coming from the man who once had to be woken up by ice water," replied Lilly breezily. Scotty narrowed his eyes but decided to keep his mouth shut.

Stillman shook his head. "I'm glad to see that one year together and you two are still at each other's throats. And here I thought marriage would change everything. It's nice to know that office life will still be entertaining."

"Tell me about it," agreed Jeffries with a lopsided grin of his own. "We'll finally be able to return to the better aspects of real life soap operas. Rumor has it Scotty wants six kids."

"Yeah, well he's gonna have to learn how to make babies on his own. There's no way in hell that I'm having any more kids. Do you even know what it's like to carry one of those things in your stomach for nine months and then pop it again? Trust me when I say it's ten times worse than menstrual cramps."

The men blanched, and were saved from further comments as Scotty's family joined them at the table. Soon the servers began to hand out plates of homemade Mexican food.

Vera glanced around at the guests and snickered as his eye caught one particular pair. "Did you know Abby and Jeff are getting married this fall? They decided to compromise and get married and then travel the world for a honeymoon. All those years of pretending to be Annabelle for nothing. Some people are saps."

"I heard the missus made you get a cat," remarked Jeffries.

Vera slumped in his seat. "Turns out I'm a sap too," he muttered darkly as the food arrived at their table. Just as everyone was about to eat a phone could be heard ringing from within the house. Lilly sighed and got up to answer it as Scotty gave her a bewildered look.

"Who the heck would be calling us? I thought everyone we invited actually came—and then some. Man, even the reporters have been milling around waiting for today," grumbled Scotty. It was then that Summer decided to wake up. She took one look at the food and put a chubby little hand in Scotty's enchilada. "Alright, honey, you can eat that. But if your mother asks, I knew nothing about this, got it?"

Summer nodded solemnly as she brought the gooey mess to her mouth, dropping most of it in her lap. Scotty chuckled and set about cleaning off his daughter as Lilly came running out of the house.

"Scotty, guess what!" she called out.

"What?"

"Christina got put in jail in Mexico! Isn't that the greatest wedding present ever?" gushed the rosy cheeked bride. Scotty opened his mouth and then shut it with a shake of his head. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what charges Lilly's baby sister had finally gotten nailed for.

Instead all heads swiveled to Vera who had tossed down his fork on his plate. "Man my present doesn't even come close to that!"

"Well," started Stillman carefully, "I'm glad you found something to make your day, Lil. Especially considering it's your wedding we're talking about…but to each their own."

Lilly sat down with a satisfied smirk on her face. "Oh, nothing could top that little piece of news. That was the icing on the cake."

Scotty rolled his eyes as he watched Lilly eat her food. "I hate to burst your bubble, Lil, but there's something I've been meaning to tell ya."

"What?" questioned the blonde glancing over at her husband. She frowned upon seeing her daughter with enchilada sauce all over her face. As Scotty took his time trying to phrase what he wanted to say Lilly scooped Summer into her arms, messy dress and all.

"Well, um, you've been so busy that I haven't been able to talk to you about it but—" whatever Scotty had been about to say was drowned out by hisses and yowls of three cats and the bark of a dog. Lilly's eyes widened in shock.

"You didn't," she murmured.

"Remember that poor Dalmatian you hit with the car last week?"

"I didn't hit it; it got in my way and played dead as I slammed on the breaks."

"Yeah, well, it has no owners, and since I felt bad I thought it might be nice that we, you know, cared for it."

"Scotty Valens, you got a dog? We have three cats and now we have a _dog_?" screeched Lilly.

"Told you she wouldn't take it well," murmured Vera looking down at his plate. Stillman and Jeffries nodded in agreement as they scooted further back in their seats. Scotty's parents had already disappeared, as well as his sisters and brothers. They knew what Lilly's temper was like.

"It's a nice dog. You thought she was a real sweetheart when we took her to the vet," pointed out Scotty.

"Only because I was happy that she was alive. Dogs don't like cats—and _I _like cats!"

"Look at it this way, Lil, Summer likes the dog. It's for her."

Lilly chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "Fine, but I don't like it."

"But remember, your sister's in jail—that should make up for the dog."

"Don't push it, Valens."

"Whatever you say, _Mrs. _Valens," shot back Scotty evenly.

"Is it too late for an annulment?" asked Lilly glancing around for the priest.

Scotty grinned. "My mom's right—you _are_ pregnant again."

"What are you talking about?"

"The mood swings are back."

Lilly shook her head vehemently. "No they aren't."

"Yes they are."

"No they aren't."

"Yes they are."

"No—wait." Lilly scrunched up her face in thought and then groaned. "Dammit! I think I _am _pregnant!"

Stillman raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Come again?"

"Missed a period—minor details, boss. I'll visit the doctor and let you know in a couple of weeks."

Scotty chuckled. "Like I said, boys, six kids."

Lilly pursed her lips thoughtfully. "You better watch your back from now on, Scotty. If I am pregnant again then that's it, no more kids after that."

"I love you too, Lil," said Scotty giving Lilly a quick kiss on the lips.

"You better love me," she teased back as Summer slid out of her lap. The couple kissed once more just as Summer spoke up.

"Look." The table glanced over at the tiny tot who had just reached up to pull a present off the gift table and got the tablecloth caught with it. Everyone watched in horror as the wedding cake came crashing down on the four officers.

"Nope," stated Vera. "I think _that _beat my present too."

**A/N: I wanted to end on a lighter note, but I'm not sure it came out very well. However, this is the last chapter. Thank-you for being so patient with me. I really hope that you liked the story.**


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